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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23167612">If the World Was Ending</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawkeyedkoi/pseuds/hawkeyedkoi'>hawkeyedkoi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Psych (TV 2006)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Tragedy, End of the World, M/M, Songfic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 13:15:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,596</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23167612</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawkeyedkoi/pseuds/hawkeyedkoi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>If the world was ending, you'd come over right? Right? Carlton and Shawn's thoughts are on each other as the earthquake happens.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carlton Lassiter/Shawn Spencer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>77</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>If the World Was Ending</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>As soon as I heard this song I knew I had to make a Shassie fic for this.</p>
<p>Song: JP Saxe ft. Julia Michaels - If the World Was Ending (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jO2wSpAoxA)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>I was distracted and in traffic</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I didn't feel it when the earthquake happened</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But it really got me thinkin', were you out drinkin'?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Were you in the living room, chillin', watchin' television?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It's been a year now, think I've figured out how</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>How to let you go and let communication die out</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When it happens, Carlton Lassiter is yelling at the car in front of him. Didn’t the green Civic in front of him understand that he had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>job</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get to?! It was bad enough that his usual breakfast drive-thru had closed down so his standing coffee order and bagel were out and he’d had to settle for the crappy mud that the small kiosk near his house put out (at least until he got to the station). Now, Mr. We-Get-It-You-Run-Marathons in front of him decided that Carlton was apparently going too fast by doing the speed limit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Technically, it wasn’t the Civic’s fault. It was the curse of rush-hour traffic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time Carlton finally managed to make it to the station, quietly grumbling to himself the whole time, he was confronted with officers running back and forth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell?” He asked, looking around. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh thank god you’re alright, Carlton!” Juliet said as she rushed over. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Why wouldn’t I be alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You--” Juliet looked confused as Carlton questioned her. “Didn’t you feel the earthquake? It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>the one</span>
  </em>
  <span>. All hell is breaking out! There's several collapsed buildings and that's just the beginning … Scientists are saying the aftershocks might be worse than the actual earthquake!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt as if time stood still for a moment. Immediately, Carlton’s thoughts went to Shawn. He’d gone off a year ago and, except for the occasional ‘I’m alive’ postcard (which Carlton never responded to), he hadn’t heard from him. Whipping his phone out, scrolling down to Shawn’s number, he hit the ‘send’ button.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>I’m sorry, your call could not be completed at this time.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All the phone lines are down, Carlton,” Juliet said, genuine fear leaking through. “Come on, we’ve got to get things under control; the Chief was asking for us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Numbly, Carlton gave a nod before following her, his thoughts still on Shawn. Where was he? Did he even feel the earthquake? Was he safe? Was he </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I know, you know, we know you weren't</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Down for forever and it's fine</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I know, you know, we know we weren't</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Meant for each other and it's fine</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>One Year Ago …</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lass … C’mon … You knew this was going to happen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carlton frowned as he watched Shawn bring bags containing his few belongings to the door. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like this one bit. “Shawn …”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lassie,” Shawn mimicked. “Seriously … I told you when we first started that … I’m just not a ‘forever’ kind of guy. Forever gives me the heebie-jeebies. It's like chills and they’re multiplying!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know that you weren’t in this forever but--” But Carlton had really thought that if he could just </span>
  <em>
    <span>show</span>
  </em>
  <span> Shawn what forever could look like. Maybe he’d change his mind? Hell, Carlton was ready to use the big ‘L’-word when he came home to find Shawn packing his things.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon … It doesn’t take a Head Detective to know that we weren’t meant for each other …”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And that was like a stab to the gut. Carlton felt like someone had taken the wind out of him. He wasn’t sure if Shawn was trying to say it just to make him angry and to make this whole process easier or if he genuinely thought that way. Carlton had actually seen a </span>
  <em>
    <span>future</span>
  </em>
  <span> with the faux-psychic. He’d actually been </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the first time since Victoria had left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“... It’s fine,” Carlton found himself saying, watching as Shawn froze at that. Was he not supposed to say that? Carlton was ready to fight hell or high water to keep this going, but it was like yelling at an immovable wall with Shawn most days. Shawn did what Shawn wanted to do and that was that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shawn wanted to leave.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carlton wanted him to stay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carlton watched Shawn walk out the door and felt a piece of him go with Shawn.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I tried to imagine your reaction</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It didn't scare me when the earthquake happened</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But it really got me thinkin', the night we went drinkin'</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Stumbled in the house and didn't make it past the kitchen</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, it's been a year now, think I've figured out how</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>How to think about you without it rippin' my heart out</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Today …</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shawn froze as he felt the earthquake. He saw every minute detail. The way the salt and pepper shakers on the table violently flung to the side. The way old man Johnson fell as the world was yanked out from under him. The reflection in the diner mirror of a building falling in the distance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His first thought was of Lassiter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jumping up, he tossed some cash on the counter, running out past old man Johnson being helped up, out into the street. The sound of sirens and people screaming sent a genuine wave of terror through him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lassiter should be at the station by now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carlton Lassiter, who he’d found at a bar one night, drinking his usual amber alcohol. The man who, although two drinks in, was sober enough to ask Shawn if he wanted to come back to his place. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They hadn’t even made it in the front door before they were making out. All the unresolved sexual tension finally giving way as Carlton fumbled with the lock before pushing Shawn through the doorway, kicking it closed with his foot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t even make it past the kitchen that night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Every day afterwards seemed like a dream. Shawn had never really expected something like this would happen. Sure, he’d flirted with Lassiter before, but for something to ever come out of it? He never would have guessed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shawn had warned Lassiter that he wasn’t a ‘forever’ kind of guy. The big R-word terrified him. He knew Lassiter didn’t do </span>
  <em>
    <span>flings</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but shockingly enough, they didn’t stop there. Whatever it was they were doing continued. Shawn had a suspicion that maybe Lassiter hoped Shawn would get over his fear of relationships if they just kept on their course. However, after nearly a year of … Well, whatever it was they were doing, Shawn started to get an itch. He was too … comfortable. It just didn’t seem right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shawn panicked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Deep down, he knew he didn’t want to leave. He thought he was falling in L-O-V-E with Lassiter and he panicked. Once he left, Shawn felt himself drowning in regret. Everytime he thought of Lassiter, he felt a stabbing pain in his heart. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, Shawn threw himself into his odd jobs to keep himself busy and distracted. At first, he sent Lassiter numerous postcards, just to let him know he was alive. After a year, Shawn finally felt as though he’d finally moved on. He returned to Santa Barbara, wanting to be closer to his friend (and if Carlton Lassiter happened to be there, well, Shawn wasn’t going to complain). </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But if the world was ending, you'd come over, right?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You'd come over and you'd stay the night</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Would you love me for the hell of it?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>All our fears would be irrelevant</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By the time the sun was starting to set, there was nothing more they could do. The SBPD had tried everything they could to keep the peace, but how could you fight against Mother Nature? Even the news had called it the end of the world. They’d signed off with a “good luck”, the Chief had told them how much they had meant to her before wishing them the best, and Carlton returned home, bruised, beaten, and bloody from trying to help as many people as he could. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he walked up to his house, he froze, seeing a figure sitting on his porch steps.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shawn?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Lassie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carlton moved over, reaching out with shaking hands, cupping Shawn’s face to make sure he was real. “You’re … Here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nowhere else I’d rather be when the world’s ending.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was as if everything had stopped for the two of them. Carlton felt tears sliding down his cheeks as he continued to stare at the other. Shawn reached out to wipe his tears away. “C’mon …”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taking Carlton’s hand in his, he dragged the detective inside, ignoring the sound of sirens in the distance. Once inside, Carlton stopped them from going any further into the house. The sudden pause made Shawn turn around, “Lassie?”</span>
  <span></span>
    <br/>
  
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I love you, Shawn.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sucking in a sharp breath, Shawn paused. It took him a moment before he finally decided ‘to hell with it’. “I love you too, Lassie.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With those simple words, Shawn watched as Carlton’s resolve broke like a damn. He scooped Shawn up into a hug, kissing him. Feeling the earth shake under them, Shawn pulled away with a weak laugh, resting their foreheads together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we just … Hold each other tonight?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shawn … I’ll hold you forever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leading Shawn to his bedroom, he kicked off his shoes and crawled into the bed, holding his arms open. Shawn quickly followed suit, crawling into Lassiter’s open arms, holding him tightly. Closing his eyes, he knew no matter what, they wouldn’t say goodbye again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>If the world was ending, you'd come over, right?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The sky'd be falling and I'd hold you tight</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>And there wouldn't be a reason why</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>We would even have to say goodbye</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>If the world was ending, you'd come over, right? Right?</span>
  </em>
</p>
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